Magnetoresistance (MR) in half doped
copper LaCu0.5Mn0.5O3 manganese related
perovskite, synthesized
by means of a soft chemistry pathway, is reported. Characterization
by means of Rietveld refinement from powder X-ray diffraction data,
SAED, HREM, and EELS indicates a random occupation of Cu2+ and Mn4+ at the octahedral sites of an orthorhombic perovskite
lattice. This disordered situation is in agreement to the absence
of charge ordering. LaCu0.5Mn0.5O3 exhibits antiferromagnetic behavior related to Mn4+–O–Mn4+ and Cu2+–O–Cu2+ interactions.
Ferromagnetic interactions are also evident as a consequence of a
disordered arrangement of Cu2+ and Mn4+ over
the octahedral sites, being the coexistence of these ferromagnetic
superexchange interactions related to the observed MR behavior at
low temperature.